Cancer patients in Indonesia will gain access to advanced radiotherapy treatments following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Varian Medical Systems and Indonesia's first private cancer hospital.

Under the MoU, Siloam Hospitals and Varian have agreed to pursue a collaborative relationship to explore opportunities for developing innovative health solutions for delivering world class cancer treatment in Indonesia.

Today's signing ceremony is being carried out by Tim Guertin, CEO of Varian Medical Systems and Dr Mochtar Riady, founder of the Lippo Group, watched by John Heffern, deputy chief of Mission at the US Embassy, Dr Gershu Paul, CEO of Siloam Hospitals and Professor Susan Tai, president of the Mochtar Riady Institute for Nanotechnology.

Dr Riady said, "It is wonderful for the Mochtar Riady Comprehensive Cancer Centre to partner with Varian Medical Systems, which is the world's leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy, and brachytherapy. We are very enthusiastic about working with Varian to bring such leading technologies and therapies to Indonesia in our fight against cancer."

The "Building of Hope", which incorporates the MRCCC, is a new 29-story, 210-bed specialist hospital in central Jakarta. One of the top ten tallest hospitals in the world, it is expected to be a major center of excellence for cancer in the Southeast Asia region when operational in December 2009.

"This splendid new facility will be a landmark center and will provide Indonesia cancer patients with much-needed access to the latest and most effective forms of radiotherapy treatment," said Tim Guertin, president and chief executive officer of Varian Medical Systems. "Varian is delighted to be working with Siloam Hospitals Group to make this very significant project a reality."

The MRCCC, which plans to acquire two Clinac iX linear accelerators equipped with the country's first On-Board Imager devices that enable targeted image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT), will be the most fully equipped cancer centre in Indonesia. IGRT is an extremely precise form of treatment that utilizes multiple imaging and motion management techniques to target tumors precisely and avoid damaging surrounding healthy tissue. Dr Riady said, "The vision for the MRCCC is to provide an international standard private cancer and specialist hospital in Central Jakarta, using state of the art equipment that incorporates the latest generation of smart IT systems."

Nearly 800,000 people in Indonesia are afflicted with cancer each year but advanced cancer facilities are rare in the country.

Varian Medical SystemsVarian Medical Systems, Inc, of Palo Alto, California, is the world's leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy, and brachytherapy.

Siloam Hospitals Group is a division of PT Lippo Karawaci, Indonesia's largest broad-based property company and, amongst other awards, was winner of Euro Money 2005 Best Property Developer.